The increase in local COVID-19 cases has prompted Quinte Health Care to place more restrictions on visiting.
Effective Wednesday, December 15, all four hospitals will move from the Green to Yellow Phase of QHC’s Care Partner and Visiting During COVID-19 Policy.
QHC Chief of Staff Dr. Colin MacPherson says it’s not a decision they made lightly but the Omicron variant’s high transmissibility poses a real threat to their vulnerable patients.
QHC President and CEO Stacey Daub says they realize how important caregivers are to patients.
“So what this yellow status really does is seek to reduce the number of people that are trafficking through the hospital and really limit it to a more consistent essential caregiver. So it still does enable people to have caregivers with them.”
In most cases it means there is now only one consistent care partner per patient allowed.
Some of the more significant changes as QHC moves to YELLOW include:
- Low acuity, short stay patients are allowed one consistent care partner
- Patient receiving life-altering news can have one consistent care partner
- Patients giving birth can have one consistent care partner
- Paediatric patients can have one care partner at a time
- The majority of Emergency Department patients are not allowed a care partner. One consistent care partner is permitted for those with an imminent risk of dying, those with cognitive or significant mobility issues, and paediatric patients
- Stable ICU patients are allowed one consistent care partner
- Outpatients and pre-operative patients are allowed one consistent care partner only if required (e.g. frail/elderly, patient with cognitive impairment, non-verbal or severely disabled, support to receive news or plan for further care). If not required, then no care partner.
Further details can be found on the Visiting page of the QHC website – www.qhc.on.ca. As communicated last week, care partners MUST provide proof of vaccination (very few exceptions apply).
